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Danielle Smith's dim view of wind and solar becomes murky policy – CBC.ca

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They loomed over the landscape along the Crowsnest Highway, the 57 hulking wind turbines of the Cowley Ridge Wind Farm. This was the first commercial wind farm anywhere in Canada, erected in 1993 before being decommissioned eight years ago, replaced by a more efficient TransAlta-owned project slightly to the north.

With the Alberta government now declaring a ban on any new wind turbines within 35 kilometres of whatever the province deems “pristine viewscapes,” would this be allowed? Would Canada’s pioneering renewable energy project be kosher under Premier Danielle Smith’s new regime?

“My inability to answer that question is the problem here,” said Evan Wilson, policy vice-president with the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, in an interview Wednesday.

When taken to the policy’s most extreme interpretation of buffer zones “with a minimum of 35 kilometres” around all protected areas and designated viewscapes, most of southern Alberta would be off-limits. (Cowley Ridge is seven kilometres as the crow flies from Lundbreck Falls Provincial Recreation Area.)

It’s not clear the rule will be this restrictive — but even Nathan Neudorf, the utilities minister bringing in these plans, noted there is no “universal definition of pristine viewscape,” and details would have to be worked out.

Approvals of wind and solar energy developments have been frozen for seven months, and as this period formally ends on March 1, the province still needs time to figure out what it means by limits within viewscapes.

That’s what has groups advocating for renewable power antsy. After seven months with the sector’s fate left flapping in the air, there’s more uncertainty.

The Smith government “has now essentially introduced a second ‘soft moratorium,'” said Jorden Dye of the Business Renewable Centres-Canada.

Them’s the brakes

Nearly two decades ago, when then-premier Ed Stelmach was facing heat on the societal and environmental impacts of the rapidly expanding oilsands, he declared he didn’t believe in “touching the brakes.”

The current premier surprised businesses by slamming on the brakes when she was faced with another blossoming energy sector that critics said needed regulation. And with the brake now being lifted, businesses aren’t sure where they’re allowed to go.

Smith said further growth “must happen in well-defined and responsible ways.” Yet there’s much more yet to be defined, including the viewscape rules and forthcoming regulation changes to better cover the transmission costs to the wide-ranging renewable power farms. — and that’s a prospect industry leaders worry may add costs to existing wind or solar plants, in addition to new projects.

And there’s more of a potential crackdown yet to come on the power source its advocates tout as low-cost and plentiful, but which this UCP premier casts as unreliable and fraught with disadvantages

Wednesday’s announcement was only part of the Smith-ordered review of wind and solar. 

The next shoe to drop is on the overall market capacity for wind and solar, and action to back up Smith’s repeated declarations that the grid must add as much “reliable” power (natural gas, mostly) as it adds wind and solar, which cannot produce electricity 24/7/365.

They spoke the language of reassurance, with Smith saying “I don’t know how long it will take us before we end up constraining (development),” and Neudorf saying “there is no requirement for any of those proponents to add natural gas to their approvals” with these new rules.

But embedded into these remarks is the subtext that constraints and mandated gas-to-solar pairing are on the horizon.

This business is watching with what we can generously call anticipation to an hour-long speaking engagement by Neudorf on March 11 at an electricity producer conference in Banff.

Alberta renewables politics premier danielle smith
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced new rules governing the installation and cleanup of renewable energy projects. Joining her was Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf, left, and parliamentary secretary Chantelle de Jonge, right. (Manuel Carrillos/CBC)

As much anxiety as there has been about what Smith’s government was cooking up with this multibillion-dollar Alberta business, It’s not clear any of this yet spells doom for wind and solar in the province. Alberta’s natural advantages and its open-entry market still make it far easier for businesses to develop than in any other province, even as they ramp up their own renewables portfolios in government-controlled quantities. 

More than 90 per cent of Canada’s new wind and solar development occurred in Alberta last year, and Smith expressed desire to keep the province a dominant player — even if she may also want to clip this low-carbon power sector’s wings a bit.

Wind and solar players say they can live with the new rules offering more municipal and neighbour input in hearings and (forthcoming) rules for reclamation. Meanwhile, limits on solar farms on top-class agricultural lands cover more than one-quarter of Alberta’s farmland, according to the government, although little of that is in the pasture-heavy southern Alberta, where electricity developers have flocked.

The province also offered power producers a glimmer of hope that it will finally open up government-owned Crown lands to wind and solar farms, which industry advocates say could offset newly restricted lands, especially in areas closer to existing transmission. But while many of these rules take place immediately (or as soon as Alberta figures them out), Crown access won’t happen until at least 2025.

It’s the murky “viewscape” rules that are drawing the most trepidation (thus far) about the sector’s ability to come roaring back post-moratorium. 

“That’s going to make it harder to find suitable sites for this development, which means fewer projects are going to go ahead,” said Dan Balaban of Calgary-based renewable developer Greengate Power

He has pulled back from pursuing expansions in Alberta since Smith’s moratorium, and he’s unsure about coming back yet, with more rules and regulations still yet to come.

The view from here

For a sense of how broad that 35-kilometre buffer is, it’s roughly the length of the full Deerfoot Trail from the north end of Calgary’s Stoney Trail ring road to its south end. That distance would span the entire Crowsnest Pass.

Pressed further to define “pristine viewscape,” Neudorf said the “Foothills and majestic Rocky Mountains are fairly significant.”

So is that declaring the gusty southwest Alberta a new moratorium zone?

He went on, talking about new mandates for “visual assessment” for towering wind turbines.

“Anything on the ridge is far more visible than it might be in a valley or a bluff,” Neudorf said.

So the third generation of Cowley Ridge won’t be allowed unless it’s hidden from view of potential naysayers?

When the Alberta Utilities Commission has reviewed proposed wind projects before, neighbours or landowners several kilometres away would protest the impact on their views. The commission would acknowledge that as a “consequence of the project that needs to be balanced against the project’s public benefits” — but the provincial policy would transform that calculus, and make viewscape impairment more of a deal breaker.

Two oil pumpjacks in a pasture with foothills and snow-capped Rocky Mountains in bg.
Oil pumpjacks and mountains have long gone together in Alberta’s iconic scenery. (CBC)

For generations, pumpjacks and oil wells came to dot the Alberta landscape as signs of prosperity and economic development. But they’ve never had the sort of geographical limits or landowner-consent issues facing renewables.

Wind turbines and fields of solar fields were starting to become part of the archetypal Alberta vista. But that was before government policy came to see them as blights on the provincial “viewscape.”

The same sort of business uncertainty, extended permitting hurdles and regulatory “red tape” that governments have lifted for other sectors is now imposed on this one — and the view from here to the future seems mightily obscured.

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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